Tom and I talk about peace a lot. We have great admiration for the peacemakers of the world. One of our favorite Congresspersons ever is Dennis Kucinich, America's most courageous politician. I like him for his brave stand on many issues--ending the war in Iraq, protecting the environment, being aggressive in pursuing renewable energy technology, and fighting for workers' rights. Many people think he is a wack job because this plucky little man is gutsy enough and honorable enough to create and fight for idealistic legislation so visionary that it seems beyond hopeless to dream that it could ever become law. He doesn't seem to care about what it does to his reputation as long as he stays true to himself and his ideals, does what he thinks is best for his country, and gets the opportunity to raise the public consciousness about the issues. He is also the most liberal member of Congress, another reason why I like him of course, and why many do not!
One of the basic provisions of his bill is the creation of a Peace Academy, modeled after the military academies except the 4 year course of study is in peace education, after which graduates will be required to serve 5 years in public service in programs dedicated to domestic or international nonviolent conflict resolution; and it also provides grants for peace studies departments in colleges and universities throughout the United States.
There is a lot more to the bill, much of it having to do with reducing violence here at home and international peacebuilding. Read about it on the The Peace Alliance website and just imagine if it became law what a different world this would be.
David Cook is also a peace maker. He teaches a course in Peace Studies. His story is below. I wish there were more like him. Maybe there will be soon. We need them.
